


The Numen's Retainer

by sinamour



Series: The Numen Anthology [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 12:22:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3810250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinamour/pseuds/sinamour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once, there was a god - mighty and powerful; revered by the people. His legend also spoke of a retainer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Numen's Retainer

**Author's Note:**

> For the fandom, all the people I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to/knowing, and of course, for Tetsuya’s birthday. Unedited, repost of an old work.

_Once,there was a god._

_He was not almighty, but He was mighty enough for a tribe of people and a part of the earth to devote their faith to Him. To these people, He gave prosperity and vigour; and to the land, He gave abundance._

_His legend also spoke of a mythical retainer – thoughtful, perceptive, sensible – a presence that kept the god in line and sane from the unending birth and death of mortal cycles. He was the Divine’s anchor and guardian because despite being more powerful than His retainer, the venerable god was sentimentally vulnerable. Without him, the god would have been a mindless destroyer, unable to keep His self intact._

*

The Numen has spoken – has bestowed upon him, a mere mortal, an honour by personally descending from His throne in the heavens to this earthly realm to seek him out – but even then, Tetsuya has qualms about the legitimacy of his new status and experience. He knows that he shouldn’t question the decision of a god, but he can’t help his reservations after so many years of being a nobody.

“I see that you are doubtful, Tetsuya,” the Numen says from across the table, quirking a quiet, gentle smile that echoes louder than the clinking of His decorative regalia in the silence of the room.

Tetsuya ducks his head lower at that, wrapping his fingers tighter around his cup of tea and drawing courage from the heat and fragrance of it. It’s obvious that the Divine is doing His best not to overwhelm him with His divinity, but there’s no way an ordinary human can withstand such sanctity in the long run.

“I apologise, my Lord,” Tetsuya murmurs through dry lips, keeping his voice calm even as he swallows compulsively. “It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement because you’ve watched over us and blessed us all this while. But…”

“But…?” the Numen prompts after a while, when Tetsuya keeps his silence. The boy – only fourteen summers old, not a child, but not yet an adult – trembles at the gentle rumble from the god’s voice, but doesn’t shy away when divine hands lifts his chin to meet His eyes.

And for the first time, Tetsuya sees the Numen in all His glory, witnessing Him head on instead of trying to get a glimpse through his fringe with bowed head – and failing. Rumours had painted Him an aloof, wrathful figure – stern in His reign over His people, jealous in His protection of them – and Tetsuya had imagined Him a severe, forbidding figure. What faces him throws him off completely instead because instead of fury, Tetsuya encounters a boy who looks no more than three years older than himself – maybe even younger if He stepped out of the holy, heavy garb of gold.

“Tell me, Tetsuya. You don’t need to be afraid to speak your mind,” the Numen urges, the edges of his eyes crinkling a little in his smile. “You never have been, after all.”

Tetsuya blinks, watching the way the Numen’s hair blazes an intense red in the evening light before His words begin to sink in. “How would you know?”

“I’ve been watching over you, Tetsuya,” He replies, gentle and patient, smile widening. “I always have been.”

Tetsuya frowns before he could stop himself. “There’s no reason to, my Lord. I’m just… me.”

“Is that why you fret, child?”

It feels strange to be referred to as a child by someone who doesn’t look all that older than him, and Tetsuya has to remind himself that the Numen has ruled over the lands for more than centuries. He’s irked, though, to hear his god brush off his concerns as nothing more than ‘fretful’ matters. It probably isn’t to the Holy One, but Tetsuya has been nothing but anxious and terrified since His proclamation two days ago, fraying his nerves into misdirected tantrums.

“I don’t think you understand what this means to me, my Lord,” Tetsuya furrows his brows and duck his head down petulantly again, his awe temporarily dimmed. It’s easier to do so when the Numen looks as young as him.

“I don’t?” the Numen tips His head curiously.

Tetsuya gnaws at his lip twice before he replies. “I’m nothing remarkable. If it’s a retainer that my Lord is looking for, there are better candidates out there. Daiki-kun and Taiga-kun are both strong and skilled, and Ryouta-kun is eye-catching. If you’re looking for someone smart, Shintarou-kun will be good, but the most loyal will be Atsushi-kun. Any of them will be far better so I don’t understand why –”

“I’m hearing a lot of self-deprecation.”

“I beg your pardon, my Lord, but I’m only trying to rationalise my thoughts,” Tetsuya presses, returning his cup to the table between them, afraid that he will spill the tea in his vexation, “I’m sure my Lord has His reasons, but I don’t want to enter His service when I am still doubting myself. It’s unfair to my Lord and myself because I won’t be able to give Him my best.”

Tetsuya would have continued if it hadn’t been for the Numen’s chuckle, an indulgent sound in his misgivings. “That’s quite the rant, isn’t it?” He said, putting his chin into his palm. “For a quiet one like you.”

“…I apologise, my Lord,” Tetsuya mumbles self-consciously, stilling when The Numen reaches over to hold his fingers with a soft touch.

“My first name – when I was born – is Seijuurou. It should be easier to say than all the ‘my Lord’, ‘my Lord’ that you’re doing now.”

It takes Tetsuya a moment to understand, and when he does, the stricken look on his face amused the god so much He had to laugh into his sleeves.

“My Lord is having too much fun teasing me, I hope He knows that,” Tetsuya grumbles as he waits out his humiliation.

“I’m quite serious about this, you know,” Seijuurou chuckles, withdrawing his hand, “I expect you to get used to it in no more than two days – and that’s being lenient on you, you know? Chihiro had only half a day.” And there is a curious fond note that Tetsuya detects in the Numen’s voice at that name.

“Chihiro, my Lord?”

Seijuurou nods.

“Yes. My current retainer.

The one whom you must destroy and imbibe for your Rebirth.

Are you ready, Tetsuya?”

*

_Once, there was a god._

_He was not almighty, but He was mighty enough for a tribe of people and a part of the earth to devote their faith to Him. To these people, He gave prosperity and vigour; and to the land, He gave abundance._

_His legend also spoke of a mythical retainer – thoughtful, perceptive, sensible – a presence that kept the god in line and sane from the unending birth and death of mortal cycles. He was the Divine’s anchor and guardian because despite being more powerful than His retainer, the venerable god was sentimentally vulnerable. Without him, the god would have been a mindless destroyer, unable to keep His self intact._

_But there’s also something else the legend has overlooked, eroded from memory with the slow passage of time – a part of the story that is known only to a select few. It is a chapter about blood, struggle, cunning, willpower, strategy; but more than anything – reunification._

_They once called it the Devouring of the Devoted._

_This is the story._


End file.
